The last 10 pounds
SgtDWest
Posts: 7 Member
Hello everyone,
I have a question about the last 10 pounds. I know people refer to this as the amount they have that is the hardest to come off. I have read a lot about strategies to burn off the last ten pounds; however, my question is what are the last 10 pounds? Is it the last 10 before single digit body fat? Or is it the last 10 pounds before I person reaches their "goal weight", which for them could be 20% body fat or even 25%?
I have a question about the last 10 pounds. I know people refer to this as the amount they have that is the hardest to come off. I have read a lot about strategies to burn off the last ten pounds; however, my question is what are the last 10 pounds? Is it the last 10 before single digit body fat? Or is it the last 10 pounds before I person reaches their "goal weight", which for them could be 20% body fat or even 25%?
1
Replies
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For me, the last ten was to my goal weight.
My total weight loss was 13lbs though, so the last 10 really didn't calculate. I did the same deficit the whole time (which worked out to an average of 1.5lb/week). Now, that's fast, but I was eating right, getting exercise and still felt great at 1200 calories. I didn't see a need to slow it down.
BUT - this isn't my first rodeo, when I lost 50lbs in 2011, I did slow down towards the end and eat at a deficit of .5lb per week. I think it's all realitive to the situation and the timing. This time, I had a short term goal to get the weight off for a vacation, so I powered through and found an agressive way to do it with out it being unhealthy.
For reference, July 31st I was 161.8. Sept. 15th I made it to 148.4. I'm a woman, 5'11, and 38 years old.2 -
The last 10 pounds to reach your ideal weight based on your gender, age, and height.
http://www.calculator.net/ideal-weight-calculator.html?ctype=standard&cage=47&csex=f&cheightfeet=5&cheightinch=1.5&cheightmeter=180&printit=0&x=52&y=202 -
for me, it's the last 10 lbs to my goal weight, which is based on my age, gender, height. since july, I've lost a whopping 4 pounds total (had some ups and downs), with a total weight loss since april of 20+ pounds. So for me, the last 10 has been difficult. but I've also had some traveling and family gatherings, which has not helped!0
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Thank you for your replies, just to be more specific, I am asking because I went from 221 and a body fat of 30% down now to 200 and 20% in 12 weeks time. I noticed after I got to 200 pounds I couldn't push past it or 20% body fat even though I was eating 1500 calories and working out 50 minutes six days a week and cardio 2-3 times a week for the last five weeks leading up to our Disney vacation, which was my goal date. Once we got there I continued to count calories and made sure I was at maintenance levels the week we were there. Now that I'm back home and getting back to work, I am trying to figure out if my body adapted and maybe now I need to incorporate some advanced strategies to get to 12% body fat which is my next goal and my date would be December 24. So what's the consensus on this? Did I hit the 'wall' the last 5 weeks and is 1 week at maintenance good enough to get my metabolism back up?1
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How are you measuring your body fat %. 10 % in 12 weeks seems very high.1
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You lost 21 pounds at a fairly aggressive rate imho.
What is your maintenance calories?
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This gives you 2 pounds loss per week and quite aggressive. How are you calculating your body fat%?
Slow your rate of loss down for starters to .5 to 1 pound. Losing the last 10 pounds is not impossible but this takes some precision is your logging efforts, staying consistent with your daily activity/exercise (if you have been doing the same exercise, might want to change/increase volume/intensity), and give this more time. I am hoping that you are adequate enough in your protein intake and doing some strength training along side your weight loss efforts. Be realistic about this final goal and give it time and patience.0 -
Ten-fourteen days for full diet break, then go back in with a less aggressive deficit (500 cals a day max).
Have a read of this: https://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html/3 -
For weight loss it's not. For % of body fat reduction it sure is. When we lose weight, 100% is not fat. We also lose water weight and at least some lean body mass. But, you never really answered my question. How are you measuring body fat %
edited to add: Losing 10 lb of body weight is a couple of % body fat under optimum conditions with diet and weight training to retain max LBM.0 -
For weight loss it's not. For % of body fat reduction it sure is. When we lose weight, 100% is not fat. We also lose water weight and at least some lean body mass. But, you never really answered my question. How are you measuring body fat %
edited to add: Losing 10 lb of body weight is a couple of % body fat under optimum conditions with diet and weight training to retain max LBM.
I mainly use the Navy formula to calculate it. I also use an Accumeasure to track it but I find that it isn't as consistent.0 -
It's possible that it IS a specific BF%; and that our "goal weights" tend to be at a low enough BF that we start getting into a zone where we do have to significantly alter our lifestyles. Not everyone has a very low goal weight; for those of us who do, I suspect that it is we who struggle with the "last 10".0
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My "ideal" weight via a gazillion methodologies and calculators comes out to 135. I'm 144-145 now and think losing 10# will be pretty much spot on to achieve a good level of body fat.
I don't really care if it takes me 3, 6 or 12 months, but I do want to get there one day.3 -
For weight loss it's not. For % of body fat reduction it sure is. When we lose weight, 100% is not fat. We also lose water weight and at least some lean body mass. But, you never really answered my question. How are you measuring body fat %
edited to add: Losing 10 lb of body weight is a couple of % body fat under optimum conditions with diet and weight training to retain max LBM.
I mainly use the Navy formula to calculate it. I also use an Accumeasure to track it but I find that it isn't as consistent.
Ok, gotcha. First, you've done great dropping over 20 lbs. So, congrats on getting on a great track. I'm going to caution you though, methods of measuring body fat are inexact at best. Online calculators are ballparks at best and can have a margin of error of more than 5%. Probably the best methods of measuring body fat are Dexa Scans and Hydrostatic Body Composition testing. And even they have a 2 to 3% margin of error.
You dropped 21lbs. Great! All of that was not body fat. Some was water weight and some was lean body mass. Likely, you reduces your body fat % about 5 to 7%. Still great. But not 10%. But here is the thing, you never really know the %. We are all tempted to want to know as close as possible. The key things are, you are dropping body fat, getting fitter, look better and I'm guessing, feel better.
To get back to your original question, what constitutes the last 10lbs depends on your goals. Could be a target body fat %, could be a weight goal, could be a visual and you'll know when you get there. You've hit a little flat spot. Nony_Mouse's recommendation is a great one. There are certain metabolic adaptations that kick in when we start on calorie restriction that are helpful but over time, that stops and the body adapts and slows down the loss. A diet break for 10 to 14 days normalizes the bodies systems and hormones and puts you in position to lose at a better rate again. Details can be found at the link she posted. Smart cookie that Nony_Mouse.2 -
For weight loss it's not. For % of body fat reduction it sure is. When we lose weight, 100% is not fat. We also lose water weight and at least some lean body mass. But, you never really answered my question. How are you measuring body fat %
edited to add: Losing 10 lb of body weight is a couple of % body fat under optimum conditions with diet and weight training to retain max LBM.
I mainly use the Navy formula to calculate it. I also use an Accumeasure to track it but I find that it isn't as consistent.
Ok, gotcha. First, you've done great dropping over 20 lbs. So, congrats on getting on a great track. I'm going to caution you though, methods of measuring body fat are inexact at best. Online calculators are ballparks at best and can have a margin of error of more than 5%. Probably the best methods of measuring body fat are Dexa Scans and Hydrostatic Body Composition testing. And even they have a 2 to 3% margin of error.
You dropped 21lbs. Great! All of that was not body fat. Some was water weight and some was lean body mass. Likely, you reduces your body fat % about 5 to 7%. Still great. But not 10%. But here is the thing, you never really know the %. We are all tempted to want to know as close as possible. The key things are, you are dropping body fat, getting fitter, look better and I'm guessing, feel better.
To get back to your original question, what constitutes the last 10lbs depends on your goals. Could be a target body fat %, could be a weight goal, could be a visual and you'll know when you get there. You've hit a little flat spot. Nony_Mouse's recommendation is a great one. There are certain metabolic adaptations that kick in when we start on calorie restriction that are helpful but over time, that stops and the body adapts and slows down the loss. A diet break for 10 to 14 days normalizes the bodies systems and hormones and puts you in position to lose at a better rate again. Details can be found at the link she posted. Smart cookie that Nony_Mouse.
I appreciate the time you took to write the long response. I'm no begginer at weight lifting and losing body fat and I don't want to get into a debate about lean mass vs water weight, etc. But if you're losing any amount of lean mass when you have lots of fat to burn off you are not lifting weights; if you are lifting weights and still losing that much you need to eat more.
Your suggestions for body fat testing are not practical at all. Furthermore the purpose of tracking body fat is to know if your scale weight reflects a drop in fat and not lean mass. The number is not important, it's just a way to track it. I say I have 20% body fat because I have visual pictures to compare to as well as taping myself.
This was the reason I didn't post stats in the original post, I just wondered if anyone had a definitive answer to what the last 10 pounds actually is.0 -
For me once I got within about 5lb of healthy BMI it got very slow losing. I’m now at a healthy weight but even with precise logging 1-2lb per month is the max my body will drop1
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I lose the same 5-10lbs every year once the weather warms up! It seems to be a never ending cycle... Gain a bit of podge in winter, lose it in Summer
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For weight loss it's not. For % of body fat reduction it sure is. When we lose weight, 100% is not fat. We also lose water weight and at least some lean body mass. But, you never really answered my question. How are you measuring body fat %
edited to add: Losing 10 lb of body weight is a couple of % body fat under optimum conditions with diet and weight training to retain max LBM.
I mainly use the Navy formula to calculate it. I also use an Accumeasure to track it but I find that it isn't as consistent.
Ok, gotcha. First, you've done great dropping over 20 lbs. So, congrats on getting on a great track. I'm going to caution you though, methods of measuring body fat are inexact at best. Online calculators are ballparks at best and can have a margin of error of more than 5%. Probably the best methods of measuring body fat are Dexa Scans and Hydrostatic Body Composition testing. And even they have a 2 to 3% margin of error.
You dropped 21lbs. Great! All of that was not body fat. Some was water weight and some was lean body mass. Likely, you reduces your body fat % about 5 to 7%. Still great. But not 10%. But here is the thing, you never really know the %. We are all tempted to want to know as close as possible. The key things are, you are dropping body fat, getting fitter, look better and I'm guessing, feel better.
To get back to your original question, what constitutes the last 10lbs depends on your goals. Could be a target body fat %, could be a weight goal, could be a visual and you'll know when you get there. You've hit a little flat spot. Nony_Mouse's recommendation is a great one. There are certain metabolic adaptations that kick in when we start on calorie restriction that are helpful but over time, that stops and the body adapts and slows down the loss. A diet break for 10 to 14 days normalizes the bodies systems and hormones and puts you in position to lose at a better rate again. Details can be found at the link she posted. Smart cookie that Nony_Mouse.
I appreciate the time you took to write the long response. I'm no begginer at weight lifting and losing body fat and I don't want to get into a debate about lean mass vs water weight, etc. But if you're losing any amount of lean mass when you have lots of fat to burn off you are not lifting weights; if you are lifting weights and still losing that much you need to eat more.
Your suggestions for body fat testing are not practical at all. Furthermore the purpose of tracking body fat is to know if your scale weight reflects a drop in fat and not lean mass. The number is not important, it's just a way to track it. I say I have 20% body fat because I have visual pictures to compare to as well as taping myself.
This was the reason I didn't post stats in the original post, I just wondered if anyone had a definitive answer to what the last 10 pounds actually is.
I think the definitive answer is that "the last ten pounds" is just shorthand recognizing that the less weight you have to lose, the more difficult it is to manage while staying healthy. I don't think it has any connection to body fat percentage at all.3 -
Once you hit your goal, youll want to keep rolling. I thought id be shreaded at ___lb, got there, still wasnt shreaded.0
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simply_chase wrote: »Once you hit your goal, youll want to keep rolling. I thought id be shreaded at ___lb, got there, still wasnt shreaded.
I feel the same way, the lowest I've ever been was 15-16 % and only the top two abs were slightly visible. I will always keep pushing till the mirror shows the results I'm after.0 -
I'm stuck also at my last 10 pounds. I'm at 130 and I'd like to be at 120! I'm 5'4 my weight just seems to be bouncing around a couple pounds. I'm very precise and strict. I weigh and measure everything I put in my mouth!0
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I'm just sitting here wondering what I'd look like at single digit body fat..
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But to answer your question, I would imagine it is the last 10 lbs before someone's estimated goal weight (and perhaps can include a bodyfat % goal, but it doesn't have to). There is no set bodyfat that any particular person has to achieve to reach a goal. It will vary from person to person.
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MegaMooseEsq wrote: »
For weight loss it's not. For % of body fat reduction it sure is. When we lose weight, 100% is not fat. We also lose water weight and at least some lean body mass. But, you never really answered my question. How are you measuring body fat %
edited to add: Losing 10 lb of body weight is a couple of % body fat under optimum conditions with diet and weight training to retain max LBM.
I mainly use the Navy formula to calculate it. I also use an Accumeasure to track it but I find that it isn't as consistent.
Ok, gotcha. First, you've done great dropping over 20 lbs. So, congrats on getting on a great track. I'm going to caution you though, methods of measuring body fat are inexact at best. Online calculators are ballparks at best and can have a margin of error of more than 5%. Probably the best methods of measuring body fat are Dexa Scans and Hydrostatic Body Composition testing. And even they have a 2 to 3% margin of error.
You dropped 21lbs. Great! All of that was not body fat. Some was water weight and some was lean body mass. Likely, you reduces your body fat % about 5 to 7%. Still great. But not 10%. But here is the thing, you never really know the %. We are all tempted to want to know as close as possible. The key things are, you are dropping body fat, getting fitter, look better and I'm guessing, feel better.
To get back to your original question, what constitutes the last 10lbs depends on your goals. Could be a target body fat %, could be a weight goal, could be a visual and you'll know when you get there. You've hit a little flat spot. Nony_Mouse's recommendation is a great one. There are certain metabolic adaptations that kick in when we start on calorie restriction that are helpful but over time, that stops and the body adapts and slows down the loss. A diet break for 10 to 14 days normalizes the bodies systems and hormones and puts you in position to lose at a better rate again. Details can be found at the link she posted. Smart cookie that Nony_Mouse.
I appreciate the time you took to write the long response. I'm no begginer at weight lifting and losing body fat and I don't want to get into a debate about lean mass vs water weight, etc. But if you're losing any amount of lean mass when you have lots of fat to burn off you are not lifting weights; if you are lifting weights and still losing that much you need to eat more.
Your suggestions for body fat testing are not practical at all. Furthermore the purpose of tracking body fat is to know if your scale weight reflects a drop in fat and not lean mass. The number is not important, it's just a way to track it. I say I have 20% body fat because I have visual pictures to compare to as well as taping myself.
This was the reason I didn't post stats in the original post, I just wondered if anyone had a definitive answer to what the last 10 pounds actually is.
I think the definitive answer is that "the last ten pounds" is just shorthand recognizing that the less weight you have to lose, the more difficult it is to manage while staying healthy. I don't think it has any connection to body fat percentage at all.
That's what I think - no real objective benchmark. It just gets harder for some people as they drop farther, for a variety of undividual reasons. My loss never slowed down, apart from my intentionally slowing it down by eating more, down to a BMI of 19 (116 pounds at 5'5" - about where my profile photo was taken). I overshot my 120 pound goal.0 -
I only live within the realm of "the last 10 lbs" (within 10 lbs of my goal weight) and I am certain it takes me longer to lose weight than it does someone who has more to lose, and that there are weeks where I am working out 5-6 days for an average of 45 minutes, carefully weighing and measuring and not exceeding my calories and I will lose like .2 lbs. This is basically what "maintenance" is, though. You stay the same most of the time, your weight creeps up when you get too relaxed about eating and you kinda let it creep because food tastes good, and then when you are getting to the "nope, not going to go there" weight on the scale, you have to verrrrrry slowly chisel those pounds off.2
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There is no definitive "last 10"
It's different for every person. It could be the last 10 to get into normal BMI or the last 10 to drop to 15% body fat. Those two would likely be drastically different for the same individual.
What's your specific goal? If your 10# away, there you have it!1 -
Hello everyone,
I have a question about the last 10 pounds. I know people refer to this as the amount they have that is the hardest to come off. I have read a lot about strategies to burn off the last ten pounds; however, my question is what are the last 10 pounds? Is it the last 10 before single digit body fat? Or is it the last 10 pounds before I person reaches their "goal weight", which for them could be 20% body fat or even 25%?
For me the last 10 lbs was the last 10 before I hit my goal weight. It did go slower for me, but I didn't stop at my goal. When I hit my goal I slowly started adding calories over a period of about 10 weeks until I hit what I considered to be maintenance. In that time I managed to go 12 lbs below what my goal weight was originally. It actually worked out in my favor, and even though I've done some slight bulks and now on a cut until the end of Thanksgiving, but I've managed to stay under my original goal weight because of going below it in the first place.0
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